Sanitary drinking-fountain.



A. C. SGHUERMANN. SANITARY DRINKING FOUNTAIN.

APPLIGATION FILED A1 11.z1, 1911.

Patented June 2, 1914.

lv E /IIIII'IIIIIIIIIIIIII/ UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

` ANTON C. SGI-IUERMANN, OF DECATUR, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNORiTOH.- MUELLER MFG. CO., 0F DECATUR, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

' l SANITARY DRINKING-FOUNTAIN.

T0 all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, ANTON C. Soi-Inne- MANN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Decatur, in the county of Macon and State of Illinois, have invented new Aand useful Improvements in Sanitary Drinking- Fountains, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to drinking fountains, and has for its object to provide an attachment for the nozzle of such fountains designed to be placed around and above the o utlet orifice thereof, for preventing boys, girls, and mischievous persons generally from dei'lecting the drinking stream, by placing a thumb or finger partly over the orifice, and spurting the water upon their companions or others near the fountain.

To this end the invention comprises a preferably dome-shaped shell adapted to be removably secured on the outlet end of a drinkingfountain no-zzle surrounding the same, and of such size as to leave a space between the inner surface of the shell and the end of the nozzle. In line with the outlet orifice of the nozzle, the shell is pierced with an opening of the same or slightly greater diameter than said orifice through which the drinking stream passes. "W ith this attachment in place all eorts to deflect the drinking stream as it issues through the opening in the shell will prove a failure,

llet end of the nozzle is a dome-shaped shell 16, which extends above and surrounds said `outlet end of the nozzle and separated a l short distance therefrom, leaving a space 17 between said shell and the nozzle, the area `of which space is equal to or greater than Iithe orifice 13. `line therewith is an opening 18 through the shell, somewhat larger than the orifice, for

as any attempt to partly close said opening by the finger for the purpose stated will simply change the course of a portion of the water which, instead of flowing through said opening, will be diverted and make its escape through the space between the shell and the nozzle into the basin of the fountain. The escape for the water thus provided prevents the force of the drinkingstream from being increased when the area of the opening in the shell is lessened and the water issuing through this partly closed opening, having no greater force than when the opening is unimpeded, said drinking stream cannot be changed to any great eX- tent from its normal direction nor thrown to a greater distance.

This invention is designed primarily as an improvement on the co-pending applications for drinking fountains, filed by Philip Mueller and myself, on the 28th day of March, 1911, and serially numbered 617,474 and 617,475, butit may be used with equal Specification of Letters Patent.

Application led April 21, 1911.

p nozzle.

fwhich the drinking stream flows. `the nipple 12 and the opening 11 is a pas- Patented June 2, 1914.

serial No. 622,607'.

advantage on other types of fountains having means for securing the attachment thereto.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view through one form of drinking fountain nozzle with the invention applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the invention removed from the nozzle. Fig. 3 is a similar view showing a slight modification. Fig. -1- is a view similar to Fig. 1, but with the invention attached to a different type of nozzle.

indicate like parts in all the figures.

In the drawing, the numeral 10 designates the drinking fountain nozzle as a whole, having an opening 11 in its lower end, suitably threaded for application to a service fitting or other inlet connection, said opening entering but a short distance into the In the opposite end of the nozzle in the present instance, is fitted an outlet nipple 12, having a vertical orifice 13 from Between sageway 14 in the nozzle through which `water flows from the inlet pipe to the orifice 13. If desired, the nipple 12 may be lmade integral with the nozzle, but in the present instance it is removably attached g to the nozzle by a screw thread connection.

Fastened on the nipple 12, or on the out- Above the orifice 13 and in the free passage of the drinking stream.

llVithin the shell 16 and concentric with its axis is a collar 19 interiorly threaded to screw on the threaded periphery 15 of the nipple 12. A plurality of arms 20 connect the shell and ring, the whole being preferably cast integral. Instead of arms 20 a plate 21 may extend across the shell 16 through which are formed a plurality of holes 22.

The attachment, constructed as hereinabove described and connected to the nozzle by a screw thread or other suitable means, will not obstruct the flow of the drinking stream, but permit it to pass freely through the opening 18 and rise to the desired height. f, now, a thumb or finger be placed over said opening 18, a portion of the drinking stream of water will be cut off, and, by reason of the by-pass through the space 17, there will be no back pressure of the outliowing stream as the water forming said stream will be deflected into said space and flow away between the arms 2O into the fountain basin, or through the openings 22 if the shell 16 be made as in Fig. 3. From the fact that a free and sufficiently large outlet for the water is formed below the opening 18, partial obstruction of said opening will not increase the force of the drinle ing stream as would be the case were the linger applied to the orifice 13, and therefore, the reduced drinking stream will be deflected but slightly from its upward course and without increased pressure.

Attention is directed to the fact that the attachment forming the subject-matter of this invention constitutes, per se no part of the drinking fountain structure, the operation of the fountain being the same, whether the attachment is applied thereto or omitted.

The device comprises merely a shell, open at the bottom, placed around the outlet nozzle with a hole therethrough for the passage of the stream of water. The shell is spaced on all sides from the exterior of the.

nozzle and the hole therethrough is larger than the orifice in the nozzle. Anything obstructing more or less of said hole will not cause back pressure nor an increase in force of the emerging stream, because the water so obstructed will flow away through the space between the nozzle and the inside of the shell.

1t is to be understood that while a single embodiment only of the invention is shown in the drawing, illustrating in Fig. 1 its attachment to the specific form offountain claimed in co-pending application, Serial No. 617,474, and in Fig. et to another co-pending application, Serial No. 617,475, both above referred to, this invention is susceptible of a wide range of variations, both in construction and use.

Instead of drinking fountains the attachment may be used on fountains of dierent types and with streams issuing in other directions than upward, furthermore it is equally adapted for use on nozzles other than those of fountains.

Having fully described my invention, what l claim is 1. In a drinking fountain, the combination with a nozzle provided with a passage for water, a nipple screwed into said nozzle and having a discharge orice, said nipple having an external screw-thread at its outer end, of an inverted removable cupshaped shell protecting said nipple discharge orifice open at the bottom, said open end surrounding the nipple and being spaced a short distance therefrom, an Opening in the top of the shell in line with the discharge orifice of the nipple and larger than said orice, and an annulus within said shell and integral therewith having an internal thread for engaging the thread on the end of the nipple to hold the shell in position.

2. In a drinking fountain, the combination with a nozzle provided with a passage for water, and a nipple having a discharge orifice screwed into said nozzle and having a reduced outer end threaded exteriorly, of an inverted removable cup-shaped shell open at its lower end and placed over said nipple to brotect the discharge orifice therein, the open end of said shell being spaced from the outer wall of the nipple to permit an escape of water therethrough, an opening in the shell in line with the discharge orifice of the nipple and larger than said orifice, and an annulus within the shell and spaced from the walls thereof threaded interiorly to engage the threaded end of said nipple.

ln testimony whereof l have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ANTON C. SCHUERMANN. Witnesses:

LEONARD F. McKiBnn, VILIJAM R. BIDDLE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

